LA Galaxy coach Bruce Arena has stated that his team needs to win ugly if they want to progress. And this is what the team achieved in the match against Portland Timbers.

They opened the score early in the game and managed to survive a late rally from the home side and win the game in an unconvincing fashion.

LA Galaxy managed to score in quick succession thanks to Robbie Keane and Gyasi Zardes. They deserved the lead as they have been the dominant side from the kick-off. Many pundits argue that LA Galaxy produced their best football of the season in the opening stage of the season, and this is no surprise that they managed to open the scoring.

Portland Timbers struggled to cope with LA Galaxy in the opening stage and conceded two goals in close succession. But they will manage to score a late goal in the first half that will give them hope for the remaining of the game. Motivated by this goal they will put the LA Galaxy team under pressure during the whole of the second half.

LA Galaxy will hold on during the second half despite Portland Timbers applying pressure to their defence. They will manage to hold on despite playing ugly at some times. Bruce Arena admitted that they game was quite tough at times, but it is important that the team learn to win such games. He said that they were the culprit by giving Portland an easy goal at the end of the first half, and this is what make the game difficult for them.

Bruce Arena said that LA Galaxy should learn how to win games even when they do not have the majority of possession. He said that his players should be ready to fight in every game.

England have been dealt a major blow with the news that Southampton’s Jay Rodriguez will not be fit for the World Cup 2014 after suffering a serious injury, which will see him remain on the sidelines for at least the next six months.

The 24-year-old has been spoken of as a potential contender for the World Cup squad, which will be announced by manager Roy Hodgson shortly. He has done exceedingly well in the friendly matches that he has taken part over the last few months, while he has been an integral part of the Southampton team that has been doing exceedingly well under Mauricio Pochettino.

Rodriguez has already scored 17 goals for Southampton and he was recently handed his debut against Chile, which ended in a win for England. This latest injury news is not good for Hodgson, who is already struggling without a number of key players. The likes of Theo Walcott will not be available for the World Cup while some candidates are seriously out of form right now. England need all the best players available in order to have any chance of progressing to the knockout stages of the tournament.

This is primarily because they have a tough group in which they will be coming against Italy and Uruguay.

“Southampton Football Club can confirm that, following his injury on Saturday against Manchester City, Jay Rodriguez has been diagnosed as having suffered a rupture to his anterior cruciate ligament. This will keep him out of action for six months and regrettably means he will not be fit for selection by the English national team at this summer’s World Cup in Brazil,” read a statement on Southampton’s official website.

Southampton director Les Reed claimed that the player was extremely disappointed with this news, but he is looking to get back as soon as possible.

Aside from his managerial duties, Jurgen Klinsmann has been promoted to become the technical director of US soccer. This role will allow the former Bayern Munich man to shape up the entire system starting from the youth academy.

He is also working extremely hard to prepare the team for the upcoming World Cup 2014. United States were expected to be a major force at this tournament, but such dreams have taken a step back after a tough draw in the group stages. The US will not only be up against former world champions Germany, but Portugal and Ghana will also be their group opponents.

There is a lot of possibility that the US may not even reach the knockout stages of the competition, but Klinsmann has already come up with excuses if the national team fails to do so. He says that the players should also be held responsible if they failed to reach the knockout stages.

Klinsmann is aware of the competition and threat posed by other sports like basketball and baseball for the huge population of youngsters in the country. He says that not reaching the quarter-finals of the World Cup will be a huge opportunity missed for the nation, as it would mean the loss of a whole generation.

“If you miss an easy shot in a game, you want the player to go to the supermarket or the butcher shop the next day and have a fan ask them why they missed that shot. We’re not there yet. But in the big leagues in Europe and South America, if you miss a shot, you’re held accountable for it. Then you don’t miss it anymore. This is something that will grow over time. The more it grows, the more often fans see (players) in the street and tell them, ‘You were crap yesterday.’ And this is important,” said Klinsmann.

The US national team manager Jurgen Klinsmann says that winning is all that matters when it comes to the World Cup. His team are expected to be one of the dark horses for progression to the latter stages of the competition.

However, they have been given a tough draw at the World Cup after being grouped along with Germany, Portugal, and Ghana. All three teams have the chance to finish in the knockout stages, which makes it difficult for Klinsmann. As a result, he has adopted a ‘win at all costs’ policy ahead of World Cup.

After going through a difficult period under his regime a few years ago, Klinsmann appears to have found the perfect combination in order to get the results. The US team will be coming into the World Cup after having suffered just one defeat in the last five matches. Their recent friendly match against one of the World Cup qualified teams – South Korea – ended in a 2-0 victory for the Americans. They have two friendlies scheduled between now and the start of the World Cup. It will be against Ukraine and Mexico.

Ghana will be the first opponents at the World Cup and they will be followed by matches against Portugal and Germany.
“We started to work on it as soon as I took the job on and we went into the final phase of qualifying for Brazil 2014 convinced that we’d have to score late goals to get results and away from home too. In football you need to have special players to get special results and if you don’t have those players, like Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, then you have to look for a way of compensating, by working as a team and having a winning mentality,” said Klinsmann to FIFA’s official site.

The United States national team recently returned back to the country after a short training camp in Brazil, which has offered a lot of insight into the challenges that lay ahead of them according to manager Jurgen Klinsmann.

The US will be one of the teams participating in the World Cup 2014. They have been given a tough group in the form of opponents like Germany and Portugal.

Despite this, Klinsmann has been sounding confident of progressing to the knockout stages. The US have done well in major tournaments and Klinsmann says that it will hold them in good stead.

He has also revealed that he took numerous trips to cities hosting the World Cup where he had a look at the various facilities. Brazil have been criticised for lacking in the preparation for the World Cup. Klinsmann has acknowledged that the competition is going to be far from ideal for the players, but has said that it should not mean that they should get anger at the facilities. Heat and humidity will be a major test for the players in the location where the US team will be based for their matches.

Klinsmann has selected Manaus as the base for the camp and he says that apart from the heat, it is absolutely gorgeous place. He also said that the stadium was also equally good.

“It was really helpful these two weeks for the team, but also for everybody involved with U.S. Soccer to experience our team base hotel in Sao Paulo, to train at the Sao Paulo FC facility, to meet the people, to get around the city and get a feel for it. I personally went up to Natal, to Recife. I went on the way back to Manaus to check the facilities there. We have a much better picture now of what to expect and what will challenge us,” said Klinsmann.

Former German star Jurgen Klinsmann has said that the England national team should at least reach the quarter-final stage of the World Cup 2014 in order to live up to the status of being one of football’s top teams.

England are regarded as the founders of the game and they have won the World Cup once in their history. However, the last few decades have been very difficult for the England national team, as they have not managed to win any major trophy. They have also failed to get past the quarter-final stage in the last few major tournaments.

As a result, expectations are low about England doing well in Brazil. Klinsmann reckons that if England do not do well at the World Cup 2014, then they may not be regarded as one of the top teams in the coming years. Klinsmann is currently the manager of the US national team, who have qualified for the World Cup under his guidance. He also had a very successful spell as the national team manager of Germany during the 2006 World Cup. Klinsmann was speaking ahead of the friendly match with Scotland.

“It’s a must to go in to at least the quarter-final. It’s as simple as that. They are definitely one of the powerhouses still in the world of football but they’ve got to prove it. The way you put expectations on the German team is ‘at least the final’. That’s the expectations now because of that golden generation they’re bringing through,” said the former Tottenham striker to the BBC.

Klinsmann is widely known for his spell in England with Tottenham. His German international team are regarded as one of the strongest in the world right now.
England were recently defeated in the friendly match with Germany 1-0 to follow with the 2-0 defeat against Chile a few days ago.

At the start of the campaign, Mexico were expected to comfortably qualify for the 2014 World Cup, but it has proven to be a nightmare for the nation after losses against lower level opposition. Mexico are in danger of missing the World Cup following the latest defeat at the hands of Honduras.

They will be taking on the United States in another key match. Rather than take advantage of the poor form shown by Mexico, Klinsmann has said that he expects Mexico to qualify for the World Cup at the end. This is likely to be the start of crucial mind games between the two managers.

Klinsmann will be hoping to come out on top after the end of the mind games. Mexico come into the match in the fourth position behind the likes of Honduras and United States.

The US themselves are not in a great position because they only second in the table behind Costa Rica. The trailer leaders by one point and will be hoping to take the leaders or at least maintain the gap after the end of this round of fixtures. Mexico have managed just one victory in the last five World Cup qualifying encounters. Thus came an end to the managerial reign of de la Torre, who was retained after much displeasure following the Confederations cup.

“I said it already in the summer, just stay calm and Mexico will get their points. Hopefully not obviously tomorrow night. But in general they will get their points and also if things go wrong for them tomorrow night, they will still get their points. Even if they have to go through the fourth place theoretically, they will qualify for this World Cup. Mexico will go to the World Cup,” said the former Bayern Munich midfielder ahead of the match.

The United States midfielder Stuart Holden has suffered a number of serious knee injuries in the past few years, and manager Jurgen Klinsmann has said that there could be a repeat of the same.

The United States recently managed to lift the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup. However, this success was not fully celebrated by the manager, who took off Holden after just 23 min on the clock in the final. After the match, he said that the player had to be taken off because he appeared to have suffered an injury that could be very serious.

Even though Holden left the pitch on his feet, Klinsmann has said that the initial prognosis is not looking good for the player. The 27-year-old is regarded as one of the best players for the national team, but he has not been available for the manager to choose since taking over the national team a few years ago. This is due to a succession of injuries that have limited his ability on the pitch. Holden had a collision with Panama midfielder Alberto Quintero after just 20 min on the clock. This collision proved to be more than just another incident in the match, as it resulted in the player being replaced.

Holden suffered his first major injury back in 2011 and since then he has played just five matches for his club. He has been with the US national team without any major injuries only for the last two months. His club Bolton Wanderers have been relegated to the second division of English football without a player of his stature in the squad. He will not be returning to his club in order to undergo treatment and it is further bad news for Bolton manager Dougie Freedman, who is expected to get the club challenging for a promotion spot.

Former Germany and Bayern Munich legend Jurgen Klinsmann has said that defender Carlos Bocanegra faces an uncertain future with the United States national team if he continues playing for Scottish club Rangers next season.

After a lot of financial difficulties, Rangers have been demoted to the third division of Scottish football. Even though they have secured promotion to the second division, it is unlikely to please manager Klinsmann. He has said that the defender should consider moving away from the Scottish club and play for a club in a top-flight.

Bocanegra is considered as one of the important players for the national team and he has made more than 100 appearances during his stellar career. However, he has a contract with Rangers for one more season and it looks unlikely that he is going to move in the summer. Klinsmann has said that playing in the second division will not be an ideal test for someone who wants to play international football. Even though Klinsmann refused to rule out Bocanegra being called up for the national team, he did admit that there are several players competing for his position.

Klinsmann has taken some controversial decisions in recent months. He has been extremely cold towards striker Landon Donovan, who recently returned from a four-month sabbatical.
“Next year, they are in the second division which is the third highest division in Scotland. Rangers is Rangers, one of the biggest clubs in history. But that division in Scotland, I’m not sure if that’s where you want to be.

Players make their own decisions and they have to deal with the consequences of that. Carlos is aware of that and knows at the end of the day that its a continual competition,” said Klinsmann. There is a lot of pressure on Klinsmann after a poor run of results.